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Proof it!
5 Essential Steps for Proofreading E-Mails
"Be
frugal. Make sure that the text you present is worth something to the
reader."
-Sarah Horton, Web Style Guide, 2/e, webstyleguide.com
Business e-mails are business e-mails. Not one e-mail you send out from
your business should be sent without proofreading. Make sure you are
branding yourself as professional. As for using e-mail to send messages
from one to many, proofreading is a critical step in the e-publishing
process.
For Example:
Recently WinM@il collected the
pre-proofed copy for a customer's monthly e-newsletter. Once the e-mail
version was designed, each of 5 proofreaders returned the e-mail draft
with a number of corrections. No two sets of corrections were the same.
The edits ranged from redundant sentences to misplaced quotation marks
and one link connecting to a web page that no longer exists. The
proofing process worked especially well for us this time.
STRATEGIES: Become diligent about
proofreading and remember these 5 Essential Steps:
- Read out loud from start to finish
- Use "Spell Check" and check spelling
(2 different things)
- Send it to yourself and do a Link
Check (click on every single link)
- Check the Subject Line ...and the
From Line
- Designate one person as final editor
(be sure you are not assuming someone else is spell-checking, etc.)
And remember, people do not read e-mails, they scan them.
- Be brief.
- Use bullets.
- Employ subheads.
There are plenty of resources available on writing, web style and
editing. Mainly, commit yourself to accuracy. Take the time. It will be
worth it to proof it!
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